Tag Archives: pride

If there is one theme that I’m consistently seeing in I Corinthians, it’s the problem of selfishness and pride in the Corinthian church. And so time and again, Paul tries to bring them back to what is central: God. That’s … Continue reading →

We covered the first part of Titus 3 in the last blog, but because it connects with what we’re talking about today, I might as well put it all together. Again in verse 1, he talks about how we are … Continue reading →

I wonder how much, as Paul was writing this letter, he was thinking about Euodia and Syntyche. These were two women who he had worked with closely in ministry, and cared about deeply. And yet there was a divide between them. … Continue reading →

I talked last time about how we see ourselves as a part of the body of Christ. But how should we see others? Paul writes, The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though … Continue reading →

As I read this passage, I can’t help but think that Paul still had in the back of his mind the problems of division within the Corinthian church. He had already dealt with it twice in this letter, and though … Continue reading →

In this passage, Paul once again addresses divisiveness in the Corinthian church. We have already seen one example of this from chapter 1 where the Corinthians were arguing about which leader they were following (1:10-15). But here in chapter 11, we … Continue reading →

In this passage, we see both warning and encouragement concerning temptation. First Paul writes, So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! (12) I think this was especially pertinent for those who thought they … Continue reading →

This passage in many ways is very similar to Romans 14. Because of this, I want to put more of my focus on the first few verses and how it relates to the rest of the passage. Paul writes, Now about … Continue reading →

C.S. Lewis once called pride, “The Great Sin” in his book Mere Christianity. Why? Because it’s pride that builds walls between us and God, and also builds walls between us and others. We see the former right at the beginning … Continue reading →

In a lot of ways, I’m kind of reiterating what I said yesterday, but certain things kind of struck me as I reread the passage today and I wanted to highlight them. One thing is the privilege that we have … Continue reading →

It’s interesting pulling this whole passage together. Usually when I have read it in the past, I’ve taken different parts of it and looked at them individually, but I’ve never really read it as a whole. What is Paul talking … Continue reading →

In illustrating the “foolishness of God,” Paul uses the people in the Corinthian church as an example. Now if you were going to save as many people as possible, wouldn’t you start with the rich, powerful, wise, and influential? Wouldn’t … Continue reading →

It is so easy to think of the Christian life as an individual thing. I suppose with the individualistic mindset of Western countries, this is particularly true. But the Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. We are … Continue reading →

The way to salvation is, in a sense, contradictory. That is to say, it is so easy, and yet so hard. Paul writes, But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend … Continue reading →

In this passage, we see two problems concerning the grace of God. The first problem is pride. It’s an attitude of, “I don’t need God’s grace. I’m good enough. The people around me on the other hand…” Paul addresses this … Continue reading →

Solomon wrote, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18) We see this in the life of Herod Agrippa I, (not to be confused with Herod Antipas who had been involved with John the Baptist and Jesus in … Continue reading →

This is one of the most famous stories from the cross. Along with Jesus, two robbers were crucified by his side. And at first, both mocked him. In the ESV, it says One of the criminals who were hanged railed … Continue reading →

It’s amazing how though times change, some things never do. And in this passage, we see an example of this. Luke writes, To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this … Continue reading →

One major problem of the Pharisees was that they were so self-righteous. They were so proud of keeping every little rule there was that they couldn’t see the sin that was so obviously there in their lives. And when their … Continue reading →

The god of Money is very big in our society. Many people long for it. They work for it. They even give their lives for it. But Jesus tells us here, No servant can serve two masters. Either he will … Continue reading →

After Jesus mentioned how God would reward the generous in the resurrection of the righteous, one of the guests at the dinner said, Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. (15) This man … Continue reading →

From blasting the Pharisees, Jesus turned to the teachers of the law. Why? Jesus told them, And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will … Continue reading →

In this passage, Jesus give a blistering criticism of the Pharisees. And basically what it came down to was what was in their hearts. The Pharisees looked so good on the outside. They were so careful to keep the law. … Continue reading →

The irony in this passage is very thick. The man who had been blind could see who Christ really was and worshiped him. The people who could see all their lives, couldn’t recognize who Jesus was though he was standing right in front … Continue reading →

One of my favorite comedy groups when I was growing up was Isaac Air Freight. (Does anyone still remember them?) They did a lot of Christian comedy sketches, and one that’s always stuck with me was one called “Final Minutes” … Continue reading →

A lot of themes are repeated over and over in Proverbs, and one of them is the danger of pride. How does pride hurt us? It hurts us when we refuse to listen to rebuke. Rebuke can be painful, but … Continue reading →

Another short but sweet psalm, in which David shows us the kind of heart we need when approaching God, which is appropriate considering that people sang this on their way to worship God in the temple. What kind of heart … Continue reading →

After more of Job’s moanings in chapter 14, Eliphaz speaks up again, and once again proclaims that only the wicked suffer. But what I find even more interesting is how he begins the chapter. He says, Would a wise person … Continue reading →

It’s very interesting to me that one chapter after I praise Mordecai for honoring the king, I have to criticize him for his pride and stubbornness in not doing so for Haman. The Bible is silent on why Mordecai refused … Continue reading →

In many ways this passage reminds me of Hosea. Hosea cast Israel as an adulterous wife, and Ezekiel here casts Jerusalem as the same. Ezekiel starts by showing the love that God had for Jerusalem. That though it had been … Continue reading →

I know. At first glance, it seems a bit strange to combine Jeremiah and Obadiah. But there is some method to my madness. If you look at Obadiah, it actually has a lot in common with Jeremiah 49:7-22. A lot … Continue reading →

Here we see more warnings of judgment to come. Jeremiah first warns the people that they will be taken captive and put to shame because of their sins. That while they would hope for light, God would cover them in … Continue reading →

Where does your glory come from? From where do you get your praise? What in your life do you take pride in? For the people of Tyre, it came from their trading business. They were a port city, and had … Continue reading →

Who are you living for? For many people, the answer is, “Myself.” And that’s definitely who Shebna, the palace steward, was living for. He thought so much of himself, that he even had a tomb carved out for himself, something … Continue reading →

I read a story once of a little boy that had made a bunch of paper boats and paper planes from some old newspapers he found in the basement of his house. And he was so proud of them, he … Continue reading →

Pride would be the downfall of Judah’s next two kings, Amaziah and Uzziah. In the case of Amaziah, his problem can be summed up in II Chronicles 25:2 where it says, He did what was right in the eyes of … Continue reading →